Capping bottles



Aug. 11, 1931. E. R. LEIGHTON 1,818,072

CAPPING BOTTLES Filed Octf 25/1 8 Patented Aug. 11, 1931 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE EUGENE R. LEIGHTON, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTS,ASSIGNOR TO JENNIE E. LEIGHTON, OF NORTH ANDOVER, MASSACHUSETTSGAPIPING- BOTTLES Application filed. October 23, 1928. Serial No.314,416.

This invention relates to mechanism for capping milk bottles and thelike, and more particularly to mechanism of the general type disclosedand claimed in my application for Patent Serial No. 251,551, filedFebruary 3, 1928. The present invention relates to improvements in suchmechanism designed to increase its efficiency in operation and to rendercertain of the parts easier of access.

For a more complete understanding of this invention, reference may behad to the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a front elevationof a mechanism embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the same.

Figure 3 is a section on the line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view similar to Figure 3, but showing themechanism in a clifferent position of operation.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section of the lower portion of the apparatusshowing the progress of a bottle cap therethrough'.

' Figure 6 is a section on the line 66 of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is a section on the line 77 of Figure 3.

Figure ejector.

Figures 9 and 10 are fragmentary vertical sections showing successivestages in applying a cover member to the mouth of the bottle and fixingit by means of a bottle cap.

: Figure 11 is a fragmentary elevation of a bottle showing this covermember applied.

Referring to the drawings in detail, 10 represents a magazine in thegeneral form of an upright tub-e adapted to receive a stack 11 of bottlecaps which maybe inserted, if desired, within a tubular holder 12 ofpaper or the like, in which they are commonly packaged. The bore of theholder 12 is large enough to receive the stack 11 with a relativelyloose fit so that the caps will slide down through the magazine readilyby their own weight. The bore of the magazine 10 is preferably taperedat its lower end as at 13 so that the opening at its lower end is justlarge enough to permit a cap to pass through. Secured 8 is a perspectiveview of the to the magazine 10 at its lower end is a base member 1 1 butinstead of forming the upper face of this member with a boreapproximately the size and shape of a cap, as shown in the applicationhereinbefore mentioned, it is provided with spaced lugs 15 outwardly ofa pair of channels 171 within which are slidably guided runways 170 of acap ejector 17. The lugs 15 are for attachment of this member to thelow-er end of the magazine. The inner walls of the channels 171 areformed by ribs 16, the upper faces of which are spaced sufficiently fromthe lower face of the magazine to permit the cap ejector portion betweenthe runways 170 to move freely therebetween and to permit a single caponly to pass between the lower face of the magazine and these ribs. Fromthe forward face of this base member these ribs are widened so as toform oppositely disposed shelves 172 extending inwardly of the projectedoutline of the stack of caps in the magazine and onto which the caps maydrop in succession and from the rear ends 173 of which they may bedislodged by the ejector as it is moved rearwardly across the lower faceof the magazine. The ribs are narrowed back of these rear edgessufficiently to permit the caps to drop freely therebetween over therear ends of the widened portions. The portion of the ejector 17 whichengages the caps successively may be of any desired shape, but as shownin Figure 8, it comprises an arcuate edge 18 having a curvaturesubstantially equal to that of the edges of the bottle caps.

In order to facilitate construction of the mechanism, the bottom of themagazine casting may be machined plane, the channels 171 and theclearance space for the slide 17 being cut in the upper face of the basemember 14. The magazine is also shown as cut away at opposite sides fromthis bottom face asat 174 to facilitate access to the interior and tothe ejector, these openings also permitting caps in bulk to be fed intothe mechanism therethrough by hand. The cap as dislodged from theshelves 17 2 falls onto the downwardly curved face 19, which as shown inthis application is provided with spaced upstanding ribs 20. These ribssupport the cap along narrow zones and prevent it from engaging oversubstantial areas of the face 19, thus overcoming any tendency of thecap to stick thereto as was sometimes found to occur when the ribs werenot used. These ribs are downwardly inclined and convex upwardly and thecap slides down on these ribs, and, due to the convexity, is turned toan inclined position as shown in Figures 1 and 5. The upper edge of theface 19 is cut away between the ribs as at 190 to provide plenty of roomfor the caps to turn and slide down the ribs and to facilitate access tothe interior of the device. I

Positioned below the base member 1-1 is a block 21 which has a centralaperture 22 slightly smaller than the size of the bottle cap. From themargin of the aperture 22, the wall of the block 21 rises with anoutward flare in the shape of a cup. A portion of the wall may beextended up as at 23 so as to provide a convenient sloping surfacepreferably concaved as at 24.- in the path of acap sliding from the ribs20 whereby the rotation of the cap is continued, the cup-shaped wall ofthe block 21 serving to center the cap over the aperture 22. The wall ofthe block 21 extends also downwardly from the aperture 22 and its innersurface is likewise flared in the shape of a cup adapted to rest on thetop of a milk bottle and to center the aperture 22 over the mouth of thebottle, so that when a cap falls through the aperture 15, it is turnedsuccessively by the surfaces 19, 20 and 24- to an inverted position overthe aperture 22 and consequently directly over the mouth of the bottle.The block 21 is connected to the magazine 10 and the base member 14: soas to be vertically reciproca'ble thereto. The connecting means may bein the form of a pair of suitable slides 25 which as shown in Figure 2may be connected to the block 21 as by screws 26. Suitable vertical ribs27 or other equivalent guiding means may be formed 011 or secured to thesides of the magazine 10 to guide the slides 25 and to maintain them inupright position. A plate 28 may be provided to maintain each slide 25between its guides 27. In order to actuate the ejector slide 17 a pairof laterally extending lugs 29 may be provided thereon. Each of theselugs is adapted to project through a diagonal slot30 cut in a slide 25and may be formed integrally with one of the guide runners 170. It willbe at once apparent from Figure 2 that motion of the slides 25 up anddown relatively to the magazine 10 will result in a lateralreciprocation of the ejector 17. The

lower portion of the base member 1 1 is suitably shaped asat 31 to forma plunger adapted to be projected downwardly through the aperture 22 andthus to force a bottle cap through the aperture and to seat it in themouthof a bottle therebeneath, and in order to facilitate this action itis shown as provided with a small rounded boss 82 which acts to dish thecap slightly, thus to contract its margin and ease it through theaperture 22 and with the bottle neck. The lower end of this plunger isalways sufficiently close to the block 21 to prevent a cap which hasslid thereunder from turning completely over thus to limit the cap to asingle inversion. This plunger is sufficiently short, also, to clear thebottle cap ledge so that it cannot injure it when a cap is being set.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: \Vhen a stack of caps havebeen insorted in the magazine, the magazine may be raised relatively tothe block 21. This retracts the ejector 17 to the position shown inFigure 3. The magazine 10 is thereupon lowered to the position shown inFigure 1, this motion causing the sidewise displacement of thebottommost cap in the stack by the ejector 17 which cap falls onto andslides down the ribs 20 until its edge stubs the surface 24. Themagazine is thereupon lifted to elevate it with relation to the block 21and thus to retract the ejector 17, whereupon the cap slides down thesurface 2 1, its upper edge tilts outwardly about the lower edges of theribs 20 as a fulcrum, and it then slides downwardly in inverted positionover the aperture 22. The mechanism is then placed over a milk bottle tobe capped and the magazine 10 is thrust downwardly. This causes theplunger 31 to force the cap which is over the aperture 22 through theaperture and into its seat in the mouth of the milk bottle.Simultaneously with this action, the ejector 17 displaces another capfrom the bottom of the stack as shown in Figure 1, this cap proceedingto fall into place over the aperture 22 as the magazine is raised intoposition to be seated on a bottle on the next downward stroke of themagazine. Thus the operation may be repeated as long as a supply of capsis maintained in the magazine. Inasmuch as each cap is inverted beforebeing inserted in a bot tle mouth, it is obvious that the caps should beinserted in the magazine upside down so that any printing matter thereonwill be on their bottom faces as they are positioned in the magazine.This is convenient to the operator who naturally opens the top of acontainer of a stack of caps to see that the cor rect printed matter isthereon, then in the case of a machine capper inverts the stack andinserts its top end downmost into the magazine, whereupon the magazineis ready for operation. lVhere the capping is done by hand, it isusually more convenient to invert the capper and "bring it down over thestack holder 12, the top end of which has been opened. The ca'pper andholder are then turned right side up and the holder 12 slight- 'lywithdrawn to bring its lower edge above. the tapered portion of thelower end of the magazine bore to free the lowest caps. Due

ill)

to the fact that the base member 14 is entirely open above the face 19and between the ribs 16 easy access may be had to the cap-reversingmechanism, particularly when the magazine is in raised position, so thatany improperly positioned cap may be readily dislodged, and theprovision of the ribs over which the cap slides during the first part ofits inversion minimizes any tendency for the caps to become stuck orotherwise improperly positioned.

It will be noted that when the capping de vice is presented to the topof the bottle to be capped, the block 21 bears thereon only by itsweight and by the weight of the slides carried thereby, until themagazine impinges on the block as the cap is set. This relatively smallpressure on the top of the bottle permits the device to fix to thebottle at the capping operation a piece of sheet material such as paper,the margin of which, outwardly of the cap, may be brought down over thetop of the milk bottle and around its outer face. This is shown inFigures 9, 1O 11. Referring to these figures, a sheet of paper, or othersuitable material, as 40, which preferably is initially formed tosubstantially cup shape, as by pleats or crimps 41 formed in its marginabout a central base portion 42, is placed over the top of the bottle,and when cup shaped in inverted position, as shown in Figure 9, and thecapping mechanism is brought down thereover so as to present a cap 43thereover. By the operation of the mechanism the cap is then set inposition on the bottle, driving the central portion 42 of the sheetmaterial down into sealing engagement with the usual disk supportinginternal annular ledge 44 of the bottle beneath its upper end. The sheetmaterial is drawn over the top of the bottle inwardly as the cap is setin position, this drawing of the sheet material being permitted becauseof the relatively light pressure with which the block 21 bears downthereon.

The sheet is thus sealed in position beneath the cap, as shown in Figure10, the cap or disk 43 pressing it firmly against both the internalledge 44 of the bottle and against the inner wall of the bottle abovethis ledge. The pleated marginal portion may then be brought down aboutthe outer side of the bottle in close contact therewith, as shown inHaving thus described certain embodiments of this invention, it shouldbe evident to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications might be made therein without departing from its spirit orscope as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

l. A device of the class described comprising a support for a stack ofmilk bottle caps, and means for taking the lowermost cap from the stack,inverting it, and fixing it in the mouth of a milk bottle, said meansincluding longitudinally convex spaced ribs with which one face of saidcap engages and along which it is moved during a portion of itsinversion.

2. A device of the class described comprising a support for a stack ofmilk bottle caps, a member having an upwardly convex downwardly inclinedface having spaced downwardly inclined ribs thereon, means fortakingathe lowermost cap from said stack and dropping it onto said ribsto permit said cap to slide down said ribs and be turned to an inclinedposition, and means acting to complete the inversion of the cap and forfixing said: cap to a milk bottle.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my signature.

EUGENE R. LEIGHTON.

